Programming Ruby

Programming Ruby
source
Name	Programming Ruby
Author	Dave Thomas, Andy Hunt, Chad Fowler
Country	United States
Language	English
Subject	Ruby (programming language)
Publisher	The Pragmatic Programmers
Pub date	2001
Media type	Print

Programming Ruby Programming Ruby is a technical book that documents the Ruby language and its use for software development, authored by Dave Thomas, Andy Hunt, and Chad Fowler and published by The Pragmatic Programmers. The book served as a practical manual and language reference for developers working with Ruby, influencing adoption among engineers at companies such as GitHub, Shopify, Basecamp, and contributors to projects like Ruby on Rails and RSpec.

Overview

Programming Ruby presents Ruby syntax, idioms, and standard library usage alongside examples applicable to projects at Yahoo!, Amazon, Apple Inc., and Google. It combines language tutorial material with reference tables and appendices relevant to contributors in communities such as RubyGems, CPAN (as a comparative reference), SourceForge, and GitHub. The text addresses practical concerns developers encounter in environments like UNIX, Linux, macOS, and Windows while referencing integration with tools from Apache Software Foundation, Oracle Corporation, Microsoft, and IBM. The authors' approach aligns with practices documented in works from Kent Beck, Martin Fowler, Erich Gamma, and Frederick P. Brooks Jr..

History and Development

The book emerged during the early 2000s when Ruby was gaining attention after work by Yukihiro "Matz" Matsumoto amidst conversations linked to NetBSD, FreeBSD, GNU Project, and the Tokyo Institute of Technology. Its first edition coincided with increased activity around projects like Ruby on Rails, which later catalyzed adoption at startups and organizations such as 37signals and Basecamp. Contributors and reviewers included members of communities affiliated with O'Reilly Media events, RubyConf, and RailsConf, and the work influenced curricula at institutions like Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Stanford University, and University of California, Berkeley. Subsequent editions tracked changes in the language as managed by the Ruby Association, discussions on Ruby Core, and releases coordinated with maintainers at Matz's Ruby Interpreter and implementations discussed at ECOOP or ICSE conferences.

Language Features

The book documents core Ruby constructs including classes, modules, mixins, metaprogramming, blocks, iterators, and exception handling while comparing patterns familiar from Smalltalk, Perl, Python, and Lisp. It explains object model details that relate to work by researchers at Xerox PARC, Bell Labs, and academic projects such as Simula and ALGOL. Discussions cover syntax and semantics used in applications created for platforms like Heroku, AWS, and Google Cloud Platform, and reference testing strategies associated with Test-Driven Development, Behavior-Driven Development, and tools created by authors like Kent Beck and David Heinemeier Hansson.

Standard Library and Tooling

Programming Ruby surveys the Ruby standard library modules and core classes, illustrating use with libraries and tools maintained by organizations such as RubyGems.org, Bundler, Rake, and JRuby. It demonstrates interoperability examples for projects deployed with servers like Nginx, Apache HTTP Server, and Puma (web server), and for databases including MySQL, PostgreSQL, SQLite, and MongoDB. Coverage includes debugging and profiling approaches used with tools referenced at conferences like RubyConf and RailsConf and by vendors such as JetBrains and Microsoft.

Implementation and Platforms

The text references multiple Ruby implementations such as MRI (Matz's interpreter), JRuby, Rubinius, and TruffleRuby, and discusses platform considerations on Linux distributions like Debian, Ubuntu, Fedora, and on Windows Server and macOS. It addresses bindings to virtual machines such as the Java Virtual Machine and integration with runtimes like OpenJDK and HotSpot Virtual Machine, and notes deployment strategies used by enterprises including Etsy, Shopify, and Amazon Web Services.

Community and Ecosystem

Programming Ruby highlights the role of community organizations and events including the Ruby Association, Ruby Central, RubyConf, RailsConf, and regional user groups like those in San Francisco, Tokyo, London, and Sydney. It acknowledges ecosystem contributors who publish gems on RubyGems, maintain projects on GitHub, and present at conferences sponsored by entities such as ACM, IEEE, O’Reilly Media, and Packt Publishing. The book's influence is visible in open-source projects steered by individuals affiliated with ThoughtWorks, Pivotal Software, Engine Yard, and independent contributors recognized by awards like the Google Open Source Peer Bonus.

Books and Learning Resources

Alongside Programming Ruby, learners often consult texts and resources by authors and organizations such as David Flanagan, Yukihiro Matsumoto, David Heinemeier Hansson, Sandi Metz, Pragmatic Programmers, O'Reilly Media, and educational courses at Coursera, edX, and Udacity. Complementary materials include community wikis, tutorials on GitHub Pages, screencasts from creators affiliated with PeepCode and Pluralsight, and conference talks archived by Confreaks and InfoQ. Many academic programs at institutions such as Carnegie Mellon University, University of Washington, and University of Cambridge reference the book in syllabi and project work.

Category:Computer programming books